Broadway musicals may have been quiet Sunday night. But off-Broadway, "Tea at Five" was at a full boil.

The play, written by Matthew Lombardo of Wethersfield about Hartford's own Katharine Hepburn, had its premiere at Hartford Stage, and starred Kate Mulgrew, so Hartford notables were in abundance, but not quite eclipsing the New York celebrities.

Jacques Lamarre of Hartford Stage sacrificed his own good time to satisfy Java's need to know, and reported on the scene both at the theater and at Ernie's on Broadway afterward.

Rosie O'Donnell, friend of Mulgrew, was there. When asked how her new baby with partner Kelly Carpenter was doing, she replied "delicious!"

When New York Post columnist Cindy Adams arrived with a hairstyle that reportedly looked like the result of a nasty taffy pull, O'Donnell shouted from across the theater: "Cindy! Your head exploded."

NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw was there, chatting in the lobby with ABC's "20/20" correspondent Lynn Sherr. Broadway star Marian Seldes also made the scene.

Coming from Hartford Stage were artistic director Michael Wilson, who is in New York preparing for his Broadway debut with "Enchanted April"; managing director Jim Ireland; and general manager John Conte. Michael Ross, formerly of Hartford Stage, now managing director of Baltimore's Center Stage, and William Whalen, formerly of Old Saybrook, now working for Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, were there to give their support.

Hartford Stage fans who came for "Tea" were Phil and Robin Schonberger; Michael Suisman and Elsa Haft; Paul Shipman; and Andrew Norton.

Party guests were given complimentary tea bags. As Adams says at the end of every column - Only in New York, kids, only in New York.